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Pocahontas (Disney)
“''You know Pocahontas. She has her mother's spirit. She goes wherever the wind takes her.” : ―Kekata '''Pocahontas' is the main protagonist from the 1995 film of the same name and its 1998 sequel. Her speaking voice is provided by Irene Bedard while her singing voice is provided by Judy Kuhn. She is currently the 7th official Disney Princess. Background Pocahontas is a member of the Powhatan Indian tribe that makes their home in Virginia. She is the 18-year old daughter of Chief Powhatan. It is stated that Pocahontas' mother had died, and that Pocahontas had inherited her strong will and free spirit. She is the only member of her tribe that is not xenophobic towards the white settlers, instead forming a relationship with John Smith. By the time of the second film, she is respected enough that she is sent as an ambassador to England on behalf of her people. Developement Pocahontas' name means "Little Mischief." She is based on the real historical figure, and was born into a highly sophisticated Native American culture that had some knowledge of Europeans. Her design was modeled after her Native American voice actress, Irene Bedard. It is important to note that Jean Jacques Rousseau's notion of the "noble savage" was an important inspiration for this fictionalized story of the important historical persona that is Pocahontas. For as can be seen in other information given below, the story presented in the animated film is not an accurate telling of her life. Rather, it is an examination of the above notion. Personality Pocahontas is displayed as a noble, free-spirited and highly spiritual young woman. She expresses wisdom beyond her years and offers kindness and guidance to those around her. She loves adventure and nature. In the film, she appears to have shamanic powers since she was able to commune with nature, talk to spirits, empathize with animals and understand unknown languages. In the sequel, Pocahontas seems to have grown after hearing of John Smith's assumed death. She keeps her independent spirit and playfulness, but is much more mature and self-assured than she was in the first film. During her stay in England, she nearly loses herself in the hustle and bustle of this new world and is turned into someone she's not. But in the end she bravely intends to sacrifice herself for her people's safety and returns to her homeland, finding herself, and romantic love, once again. She believes that here mother's spirit surrounds her. Physical Appearance Pocahontas is a young woman with copper skin, long raven-black hair and twinkling, dark brown eyes. She has a tall, slender, statuesque figure with broad shoulders and narrow hips and goes around barefoot in the first film, whereas in the 2nd film, she wears flat shoes. The animation of Pocahontas is different from other Disney Princess Disney Parks Pocahontas appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for meet-and-greets on a recurring basis. She is the most common Pocahontas character, next to Meeko. She is dressed in her buck-skin dress from both films; instead of her feet being bare, however, she wears matching shoes. She has an incredibly notable role in the World of Color nighttime spectacular atDisney California Adventure during the nature-focused "Colors of the Earth" segment. Disney Princess Redesign In 2012, Disney released images portraying the various official princesses in glamorized, sparkling and glittering formal princess wear, which has become known as a redesign. Pocahontas received multiple changes in her late 2012 redesign. Feathered earrings with leather cords and turquoise beads at the end frame her face and her dress is now beige and more elaborate with the addition of feathers and turquoise stones. Her late mother's necklace is painted gold and studded with turquoise stones instead of being a solid blue, while the pendant at the end is a blue stone instead of silver. Notably, the traditionally barefoot princess now wears knee-high soft suede boots. Pocahontas also has another glittery redesign of her English ball gown from when she attended the Hunt Ball with John Rolfe at the King's palace. Trivia * Even though many European settlers commonly describe Pocahontas as an "Indian Princess," most Native American tribes never had royalty, and most chieftains were elected (like the President of the United States, for instance) rather than inherited. When her father perished in real life, Pocahontas would have never inherited his role regardless. It was her uncle, Opechancanough, who became the paramount chief after the death of Powhatan. * Pocahontas is the second Disney Princess to be voiced by two actresses, after Jasmine and before Mulan. Irene Bedard provided her speaking voice while Judy Kuhn provided her singing voice. * Pocahontas is the first Disney Princess to be clearly located in America, the second being Tiana. * She is the first and currently only member of the Disney Princess franchise to be of Native American descent; Princess Tiger Lily from Peter Pan predates Pocahontas as a Native American Princess in a Disney film by 42 years, but she is not included in the franchise. The other Disney protagonists to be of Native American descent thus far are Kuzco and Kenai. * Pocahontas is the first and currently only Disney Princess (and Disney protagonist in general) to be based on an actual historical figure instead of the traditional fairy tale or folktale. * Irene Bedard, who voiced the character, later portrayed her mother in New Line Cinema's 2005 film The New World. * She is the only Disney Princess to have a visible tattoo. * She is the second Disney Princess to wear a non-European ethnic dress, preceded by Jasmine and followed by Mulan who wears a Hanfu (traditional Chinese dress) when she goes to the Matchmaker. * Pocahontas is the first Disney Princess to have a human best friend, the second being Tiana. Anna and Elsa could count as the third and fourth, as they're not only sisters but also each other's best friends. * Pocahontas is also the fourth Disney Princess to wear flats (she wore them in her sequel), being preceded by Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine and followed by Tiana, Merida, Anna and Elsa. * She is the fourth Disney Princess who has to deal with an unwanted marriage as a major or minor source of conflict. Aurora is the first (in which she did not know that the boy she met was Prince Phillip), Belle is the second (as she has to deal with Gaston's intent to marry her solely out of vanity and to fulfill societal norms), Jasmine is the third (in that her father is trying to marry her off before her next birthday) and the fifth being Merida (who wants to follow her own path). Hers is because her father wants her to be with a strong warrior who can protect her from harm, but she has doubts about this potential husband solely because she feels that he is too serious for her. * Pocahontas is the first Disney Heroine who deals with racism as a source of major conflict, Esmeralda being the second. * Pre-production of Pocahontas in a Disney magazine promoting the movie showed there was a title card that featured an early version of the Disney heroine who looked a lot like Tiger Lily from Peter Pan. It showed her head held up high, eyes closed, arms folded and surrounded by a few forest animals. Therefore, it seemed it's actually this same Tiger Lily and not just someone who resembled her, but under a different name. * She is possibly the first Disney Princess with magical powers. Pocahontas's powers are shamanistic in nature. She can communicate with spirits and learn foreign languages quickly. Rapunzel can heal wounds with her hair and Elsa has the ability to control ice and snow. It is disputable whether or not Snow White and Aurora had powers, as they were both able to communicate with animals in the forest. Cinderella was also able to speak with mice. * Pocahontas is the first Disney Princess to not be shown getting married in either of her movies or in stories. In the Step Into Reading book "Beautiful Brides," it shows Belle's, Snow White's and Aurora's weddings, though they are only short stories. Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana and Rapunzel marry in their first movies, Jasmine in her third and Mulan in her second. Anna and Elsa are also unmarried. * She appears to be among the least popular princesses in the official line-up, as well as barely ever marketed with any merchandise and/or media (there were several Mattel dolls of her during the late 1990's, most of her dolls from 2000 onwards have been Disney Store-exclusives) and most of her appearances are often restricted to the back of the line in group shots. She and Mulan appear less frequently than the other Princesses. * Pocahontas is the third Disney Princess to sing a duet with her love interest, the first being Cinderella and the second being Jasmine. However, her duet was removed from the original film and put into the credit sequence instead. She also had a duet with her second love in the sequel, but it was restricted to the credits as well. * Pocahontas is the only Disney Princess that is not depicted wearing a tiara either in the film or in the franchise, only once being featured with a circlet-styled tiara in the Disney Princess Magazine. * She is the first Disney Heroine associated with the Disney Princess franchise to be in an interracial romantic relationship, before Esmeralda, Kida and Tiana. However, the real Pocahontas never had a romantic relationship with Captain John Smith, but they did have a friendship as adopted siblings after she rescued him from his execution in 1607. However, she did marry John Rolfe in the first interracial marriage in American history. * Pocahontas is the only member of the Disney Princess who did not get a Sparkling Princess doll line by Mattel (excluding Anna and Elsa as they were made after production). * Despite the events depicted in Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, John Smith is still the official love interest of Pocahontas, since most media, including the Disney Princess franchise, keep Smith and her as an official couple, completely ignoring John Rolfe. * In real life, Pocahontas did marry Kocoum. It occurred a year after Captain Smith returned to England due to his injury from gunpowder. However, she did not stay with him and eventually married John Rolfe instead. * She is one of the only three Disney Princesses to appear in the Walt Disney World attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (the other two being Ariel and Tiana). * Pocahontas is the only Disney Princess not to have any costume changes in her original movie. * Pocahontas shows up in early concept art of Disney INFINITY; thus, it can be inferred that she was considered to be in the game at one point Category:Female Category:Black Hair Category:Heroines Category:Pocahontas Characters Category:Brown eyes Category:Princesses Category:Protagonists Category:Teenagers Category:Disney Princesses Category:American Category:Barefoot Characters Category:Disney Heroines Category:Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 characters